The wind became stronger and stronger, and the heavy snow falling from the sky was like a white tide, rolling across the huge city.
Xia Zhaoyi looked into the distance against the swirling wind and snow. In the distance, the crowds running in front of Ning'an Building were even more excited than when she left.
The lights spread all the way, and the back alley was already bright, and now reached the deepest part. The originally slender light chain turned into a whole sea of lights, and all the houses were lit up.
The open space in front of Ning'an Building and all the way to the long street were filled with carriages and sedan chairs.
The neighbors all came out, and everyone stood along the long street outside, talking all kinds of things.
The intersection of the back alley is on the right hand side of Xia Zhaoyi's return to Ning'an Building. When Xia Zhaoyi passed by, he saw a body being carried out.
The body was covered with white cloth, but the shape and appearance of the body under the white cloth and the faint color of blood showed that it was obviously beheaded.
"Miss Ah Li!" A steward saw Xia Zhaoyi and hurriedly came up.
Xia Zhaoyi looked at him.
"A lot of things happened after Miss Ali left," the steward gasped, "Miss Ali, please go upstairs and take a look first, our eldest lady is injured!"
Xia Zhaoyi frowned: "Is it serious?"
"Serious! The lady was hit by an arrow!"
"get shot?!"
Xia Zhaoyi immediately handed the reins to him: "I'll go take a look."
There were bright lights in the lobby, and apart from the wounded, there were five bodies covered with white cloth.
The corpse I saw just now at the intersection of the back alley was being carried from the backyard.
Xia Zhaoyi quickly went upstairs. Many people gathered around Zhao Ning's study, and the corridor outside was full of people.
"Miss Ah Li!" a servant girl shouted when she saw Xia Zhaoyi approaching.
Xia Zhaoyi nodded at her and turned to look at Zhao Ning in the study.
Zhao Ning was leaning on the soft couch. The arrow was hit on the right shoulder blade. The wound had been treated and his clothes were clean. He was talking to Captain Qiu and Mrs. Qu.
Hearing the sound of Xia Zhaoyi's arrival, everyone in the room looked toward the door.
Zhao Ning stood up slightly: "Ah Li."
"Ah Li." Mrs. Qu stood up and walked over.
Xia Zhaoyi didn't take off her hood, and the frost and snow that fell on her cloak immediately turned into water droplets in the warm and soft study room.
"What happened?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
Zhao Ning spoke weakly: "After you left, I followed Hongwen to Zaichun's place."
"Let me tell you," Mrs. Qu said, "you were seriously injured and your voice has become mute."
Mrs. Qu looked at Xia Zhaoyi and tried her best to summarize what happened in concise words.
"Later we also prepared crossbows and arrows, and only dared to go back after we had prepared a good defense. All the corpses in the courtyard were just taken out."
"Except for Mo Haizhu in the house," Zhao Ning added, "he is missing."
"Mo Haizhu," Xia Zhaoyi asked, "have you heard of this person before?"
"Wei Zeng, Captain Qiu's people just searched his house for clothes. His name is Mo Haizhu. He was originally going to Dongping Academy to study, and he will be one of the first batch of students in the next spring." Zhao Ning said.
"He is the real murderer," Captain Qiu said, "Hongwen confessed that it was Mo Haizhu who, together with Zai Chun, ordered her to drug Yiqiu."
"This Mo Haizhu should have been rescued by those men in black." Mrs. Qu said.
"Can you bring back the crossbow arrows from the scene?" Xia Zhaoyi said, "I want to see them."
Captain Qiu turned around and ordered his men to go get it.
Zhao Ning propped up his body further: "Ah Li, please change your clothes and don't get sick."
"It doesn't matter to me," Xia Zhaoyi said, looking around, and then asked, "Where is the doctor?"
Zhao Ning guessed who she was referring to, but still wanted to confirm: "The one who performed acupuncture for Yi Qiu?"
"Um."
"He has such a weird temperament. When he was bandaging someone's wound just now, he said that he had been stained with someone else's blood and had broken the precept. So he locked himself up in the second and third floors and refused to come down no matter who asked."
Xia Zhaoyi nodded.
I have to say that Zhao Ning is really good at talking.
The crossbow arrows were quickly fetched, and Xia Zhaoyi took them. Sure enough, the arrows had the same pattern again.
In order to match the special double crossbow machine, these crossbow arrows can only be made from the same batch of molds, and the arrow patterns on them will not change.
"Ah Li," Mrs. Qu asked with concern, "How was the situation after you went there?"
"It's a small gain," Xia Zhaoyi smiled, "I'll go find the doctor first and he'll be here soon."
"Okay." Zhao Ning said.
The lights on the second floor are also all bright, and the lanterns under the eaves are connected one by one to form a long bright chain.
Due to Shen Shu's reasons for being here, Zhao Ning sent more people, but he didn't want to be too deliberate, so they just stayed in the dark.
Xia Zhaoyi walked through the courtyard and saw Hongwen kneeling on the snow.
The maids who were not busy in the kitchen were standing or sitting on the verandah. Lin Liuniang, who had been called to act by Manager Chu before, was also among these maids and was boasting about her acting skills.
Seeing the girl coming, everyone stopped talking and stood up and shouted: "Miss Ah Li."
Hearing this, Hongwen raised her head from a distance and looked at Xia Zhaoyi with distracted eyes, her lips had turned purple and blue.
Seeing the way Xia Zhaoyi looked at Hongwen, Lin Liuniang hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Miss Ah Li, no one asked her to kneel. It was she who had to go and kneel there. I want the lady to forgive me!"
Hongwen begged in a hoarse voice: "Miss Ah Li, I know I was wrong, please beg the eldest lady for me..."
"When you saw Yiqiu coughing and almost dying, did you ever think about letting her go?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
"I was forced."
"Yiqiu was harmed. If Yiqiu falls, the next one to be harmed will be Zhao Ning."
"I was wrong, I really know I was wrong." Hongwen covered her face and cried bitterly.
"There is no need for you to continue kneeling," Xia Zhaoyi looked at her. "Kneeling here will not offset the sins you have committed. It will only damage your body's vitality. You might as well maintain your strength and wait for the punishment after the verdict. "
"Miss Ah Li..."
Xia Zhaoyi didn't speak any more and walked away.
When she heard the footsteps outside the verandah, Shen Xu was looking for tools to try to pry open the nails of the wood on the window.
When the door was pushed in from the outside, he was already quietly kneeling in front of the coffee table meditating.
There was no movement at the door for a while, and Shen Xu opened her eyes and looked.
The girl put her hands on her chest, leaned against the door frame lazily, and looked at him calmly.
The light from the eaves and corridors floated behind her with the wind and snow, and the clear silhouette of the young and graceful girl was truly picturesque.
"It's you." Shen Shu smiled.
"Your master is here," Xia Zhaoyi said, "downstairs."
There was a moment of deep understanding, and then the smile did not change: "Really?"
Xia Zhaoyi lowered his hand and came in, closing the door sideways and shutting out the wind and snow.
Shen Xu looked at her sitting down opposite and said with a smile: "What, Ah Li wants to drink tea with me?"
"Who are those people in Qianqiu Palace?" Xia Zhaoyi asked directly.
"Them?" Shen Xu shook her head, "I don't know."
"you know."
"I really don't know." Shen Shu smiled lightly.
"Lin Qingfeng was captured by their people."
"She? Oh...she loves to cause trouble, so it's not surprising that she was taken away."
"It seems that you won't tell me anything anymore." Xia Zhaoyi smiled.
"No, no, tell me everything you know, tell me everything you know, and don't tell me anything you don't know."
"Do you know Tang Xiangsi?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.
Shen Xu was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "I don't know him."
"you know."
"I really don't know him."
"Have you found him, or are you looking for him?"
"Who is...Tang Xiangsi?" Shen Xu looked confused.
He has such a good-looking face, and he never feels greasy when he makes any expression. His refreshing and delicate face, with a slight frown, makes him look like a handsome young man who is inquiring about knowledge.
Xia Zhaoyi had to say that Shen Xu had really made full use of his innate advantages. In contrast, his younger brother, who was equally handsome and unworldly, never made a fuss about it.
"If you continue to pretend to me, then there is no need for us to talk," Xia Zhaoyi said coldly, "Shen Shu, I am a ruthless person, you don't know that, right?"
"How could it be possible? Miss Ah Li is gentle and kind. She has a sweet voice and is loved by everyone."
"Bang!" A dagger was inserted next to Shen Xu's hand.
Shen Xu looked down and blinked.
It wasn't that he was too calm and indifferent, but that he didn't see clearly how the girl took out the knife, and the dagger just fell into his hand.
"Uh, Miss Ali..."
"If you don't tell the truth, I will scratch your face," Xia Zhaoyi said coldly, "Shen Xu, do you want to be disfigured?"
"Miss Ah Li can't be so vicious, right?" Shen Shu's smile became stiff.
As soon as he finished speaking, silver light suddenly flashed in front of his eyes, and his cheek suddenly felt painful.
Shen Xu hurriedly raised his hand to touch it, and blood gushed out from the right side of his face.
"I'm just so vicious." The girl said with a smile.
